Distribution of viruses in the shallot germplasm collection of the Czech Republic – Short Communication

Abstract

The Czech collection of shallot (Allium cepa var. ascalonicum) genetic resources (122 accessions) was surveyed for the presence of four different viruses, i.e. Onion yellow dwarf virus, Leek yellow stripe virus, Garlic common latent virus (GCLV), and Shallot latent virus, by DAS-ELISA. The shallot seems to be resistant against GCLV because none of the tested plants was infested by this virus. Other three viruses were found with an incidence ranging from 53% to 93% for genotypes and 48% to 87% for plants. Most of the tested shallot genotypes were simultaneously infected with two or three viruses. These results were compared with neighbouring collection of garlic where all four viruses were found widespread with an incidence ranging from 65% to 83% for genotypes and 39% to 61% for plants.